Prince of Snow
by wearegliding5683
Summary: What if Yuki and Kyo never met Tohru Honda? If Yuki moved away from the Sohma estate for university, despite his family being displeased with his plan. What if he wasn't alone in the move?
1. Chapter 1

Everyone has that guilty pleasure when it comes to pairings, right? I can't possibly be alone in this, right? Anyways, this is going to be a story based on my biggest guilty pleasure pairing for Fruits Basket. What would happen to the Sohma's if Tohru didn't exist? What if the curse didn't break before Yuki moved away to go to university. Would Akito have allowed him to leave the Sohma house? What if someone couldn't handle his leaving?

Also I realize that I'm referring to Akito as a male in this story, which is mainly because he wouldn't be out as a female yet. Since he didn't come out about that until the curse broke. I feel as though Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure were forced to think of her as a male, so that they wouldn't slip up. So I'm just going to have Hatori refer to her as a man until maybe farther into the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. All rights go to Natsuki Takaya. This is merely fan based.

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><p>"<em>Yuki-kun, you have decided on your university, correct? When will you be moving away from us?" Shigure sat, smoking a cigarette in the dining room of his house. <em>

"_You nose too much into other people's business," Yuki responded, taking a sip of the tea before him. "No one, other than Akito and my parents know of my choice."_

"_Oh, but Yuki, I just wanted to know when I needed to plan the going away party! You shall be missed, dare I say by all in this house." Shigure added, a smirk flashing onto his face. _

"_I'm not going to miss that stupid rat!" Kyo shouted, standing from his seat across the table. "I can't wait until he gets out of here. At least then, I'll have some peace of mind!" _

"_Kyo-kun, calm down, you're yelling. You'll give Hatori a headache." Shigure said, patting his hand on the table to calm the cat down. _

"_Shigure, do not speak for me, but Kyo, you do need to learn to control yourself. It's a key to honing your abilities as a martial artist." Hatori wasn't positive how he ended up inside of Shigure's house, but the dog had eventually forced him into the house for an evening meal. _

"_So, Hatori, would you do the honors?" Shigure asked, attempting to hold back a laugh. _

"_What do you mean, Shigure?" _

"_Well, if we let Yuki-kun into the kitchen, he will burn my house down." There was no stopping the dog from letting out a long laugh. _

_Hatori glared at his childhood friend. Though, he couldn't say he was surprised to hear Shigure request him to make a meal. _

"_Shigure, do you even have any food in your refrigerator?" Hatori opened the door to the kitchen. A stink filled his senses, staring down in front of him, he found mounds of trash before him. "Shigure, don't invite me over to clean your house and fill your stomachs." He demanded, slamming the door to the kitchen. _

_Letting out a sigh, Shigure shook his head, "I guess this gives us no choice but to order food in." He picked up a menu to the restaurant that they were living off. "I will order us food then," he said, leaving the room to make the call in the hallway. _

"_I'm going to my room," Kyo stated, without another word he left the room, leaving Hatori alone with Yuki. _

_The rat let out an exasperated sigh, resting his head onto the top of the table. Simply by looking, Hatori could tell that the boy hadn't slept well recently. A month ago, Hatori began to hear the claims that Yuki was interested in leaving down to go to university. It was the first time that the rat thought of going against the god's wishes. Akito spent much of his time contemplating the best possible way to keep the rat within his hands. While Hatori checked up on the god, he would go on of his plans to force Yuki back into the Sohma estate. It was difficult for the god to believe that the zodiac would not wish to stay beside him at all times. He was even less pleased to hear Hatori's opinion. The burning on his cheek could still be felt. _

"_You should not add more stress onto your body than needed. You will get an attack if you continue to push yourself this hard." Hatori stated, taking his seat once more. "Akito has allowed you to study away from the city, so don't worry any longer." _

"_He could change his mind any moment. He made it clear that if he changed his mind, I would be forced into dropping out and returning to the Sohma estate." Yuki said, his voice filled with fear. Hatori couldn't blame the young boy, after all that their god had put him through. The terror that Yuki grew up with, the second his parents decided to sell him to the head of the house._

"_He won't change his mind, I can ensure you that." Hatori added, taking more of his tea. He may have suffered through a beating from the god, but he let the god know that Yuki needed to excel outside of the Sohma house. Akito hadn't spoken to him for two weeks. Hatori took the silence as a confirmation from their god. _

"Yuki-kun, how sad that you are leaving us!" Shigure cried, hugging the boy.  
>"You've left me alone with mister moody." He added, pointing to the cat who was clearly displeased with being at the main estate.<p>

"Shigure, please let go of me," Yuki said, standing still until the dog let go of his torso.

"How can you do this to me? Not to mention that you're taking Hatori away from me! How will I live without you and Hatori?" Shigure whined, letting go of the rat only to wrap his arms around the dragon. "Hatori, don't let me here, I will be lonely without you."

"He is right, how must we survive without your common sense, Haa-san." Ayame joined the conversation, resting his arm around Hatori's shoulder. "You were always the smartest one of the three of us. What are we to do without you? You will have to call us every night."

Hatori's eyes shifted away from his two friends. He couldn't believe that they were still so childish, even as adults. "You two, stop this, Akito will be here soon. You don't want to be seen like this by him, do you?" With the name of the god, the two zodiac members shut their mouths and stepped away from their friend.

As if on cue, Akito stepped into the courtyard, being followed by Yuki's mother and father. Distain reeked from all three of them. All disappointed to hear of Yuki's plan to move away from the main estate. Akito showed lowering pleasure of their section of the family, one that was held so high by the god.

Akito stepped close to the rat, leaning his head close to Yuki's ear and whispering to him. Yuki stood silent, his attention on the ground. A clear sign of exactly what Akito was telling the newly instated adult. Akito stepped away, turning from Yuki and shook his head. He didn't share a word with Hatori, only shot daggers at the dragon.

Yuki's parents kept their mouths' shut as well, standing watching as the two climbed into the car, Hatori in the driver's seat and Yuki in the passenger. With waves from Shigure and Ayame, the two began their journey towards their future destination.

The first half hour was filled with silence and tension. The words that were shared between the head of the family were clearly causing pain to the rat. Hatori considered the best possible way to bring it up with the rat, but he wasn't able to come up with a way to approach the topic.

"Hatori, why are you moving?" Yuki finally filled the silence with conversation.

They hadn't spoken of any reasoning behind Hatori's move. Their plans were created, but neither of them spoke on the surprise from Hatori. Although, it was surprising to see Yuki act out against their family. It was even more shocking to hear that the dragon was willing to stand up against his family. There were rumors of Akito and Hatori fighting of topics of their family. For the last two months, when Akito needed looking after, they called a different family doctor.

"Everyone needs distance from their family at times. Besides, everyone was reluctant to see you be so far away from the family with no one you knew around." Hatori stated, knowing that there were concerns that he might make a foolish mistake like that when he was a child.

Hatori had been a teenager when Yuki transformed in front of his classmates. It was decided that he would use his powers of suppressing memories to take them from the children in Yuki's class. The rat had cried at his feet for hours, begging him to allow his friends to keep their memories. It was a time that Hatori would have never thought of going against the god of the family. Despite Yuki at his feet, he took the memory of those who Akito demanded him to, without another thought.

Before he took the memories of Yuki's friends, he spent plenty of his time in the room that Akito kept the rat in. His excuse was to ensure that Yuki was healthy, but seeing the boy trapped in such a room, he couldn't help but feel pity towards the boy. There were times that he would sneak treats in for the young boy. Especially on the nights that Akito was unhappy with the rat.

"So, you're being sent to watch over me? What are they worried I'm going to stumble over a girl again?" Yuki questioned, staring out the window of the car. His voice had a tone of hatred seeping in.

"That's not what I mean, you know that Yuki. Your health is in bad condition. You avoid coming to see me, who is to say that you will ever go see a doctor if someone isn't forcing you to go?" He scheduled a monthly appointment with Yuki, and yet it often ended up with him searching around his school and Shigure's house to do the check up.

"What do you take me for? An idiot? I'd go to the doctor if I needed to go. I don't need someone to stand over at all times. I'm an adult, you know." Yuki turned to the man for the first time since getting into the care. More daggers were being sent in Hatori's direction.

"And if you push yourself too hard and transform? You would be unable to go to a regular doctor. It's a three-hour drive to get to you, too far for emergencies." Hatori stated, turning the blinker on the car on, and pulling into a gas station.

"Why are we stopping?" Yuki questioned, noticing that they pulled into a parking lot, and Hatori parked by the front door of the building.

"I need to smoke," he stated, unbuckling and getting out of the car. He stepped into the station and bought a pack of cigarettes. Moving to the side of the building, he light one and began to smoke. He enjoyed his bad habit, but when possible kept it away from the rat. He already had to watch over Yuki's weak bronchial tubes. It would be foolish to smoke beside a person who already had asthma.

He hadn't anticipated needing to smoke on their way out of town. However, after the pressure placed on him that morning, he needed to relax. Although Akito hadn't spoken to him for the last two months, the maids of their family hinted towards Akito's anger with him. He was asked on various occasions to apologize to the head of the house, but eventually made his final decision. Not to mention the amount of guilt being placed on him by the rat in the car. He hadn't thought that Yuki would be so angered by his plans of moving. Although, Hatori couldn't place exactly what it was that came over him when he decided to move with his cousin.

Finishing the cigarette, he got back into the care and turned on the engine. Pulling out of the parking lot, Hatori got back on the main road.

"It's a bad habit, I thought as a doctor you wouldn't do such a thing as smoke." Yuki said, covering his nose from the scent that poured off Hatori's suit jacket.

"We all have bad habits, don't we?" Hatori said plainly, knowing he could point out the majority of his family members' bad habits.

Silence enveloped the car; such as it had when they first began the trip.

"I didn't mean to sound unhappy with you, Hatori. I simply can't imagine that Akito would allow me to go without a fight. I do not mean to be untrusting of you, it is Akito I do not trust." Yuki apologized for his ignorance.

"Yuki, I have already told you not to continue thinking of him. You must think of yourself now. You are an adult after all, right?"


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome back to Prince of Snow! I hope that you are all enjoying yourselves. I'm trying my best to get a chapter out every day for one of my fan fictions, at least. This might not happen as much soon, because I need to focus more in my classes. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this new chapter of the story. Reviews are loved, and suggestions are always taken into consideration. Thank you, and enjoy.

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><p>"Three weeks, and you haven't called me once! You stole my little brother and dashed off without another word. You are such a cold soul!" Ayame cried over the phone, he'd tried to call Hatori's apartment three times in the last two days. However, with working at a new hospital, Hatori wasn't often at home, and when he was it was namely to sleep. He hadn't been able to make a phone call to anyone in his family since he moved away.<p>

"And how is my little brother? How is he adapting to the life of the college boy? Has he had any love affairs yet? Are the girls all over him?" Ayame was a bit of a hopeless romantic type. Hatori always envied him for his ability to see the best in every situation, even though he often acted foolishly.

"I haven't seen him since I moved into the dorms. He said is schedule was filled with a lot of activities for first year students, and I've hardly had time to do anything other than sleep, eat, and go to work." Hatori explained, wondering how the rat was doing in the university life. He had attended college when he was younger, but his family pushed him to graduate early. He also didn't go far from home, and lived in the house he was given after his parents passed away.

"You mean you have left him all on his own to survive in the world? How dare you, you know how little Yuki knows of the world outside of us." Ayame was exaggerating more than usual.

"Aya, you hardly ever spoke to him when he was a child. You can't say that his world revolved around you. Besides, he has been outside of the Sohma household for quite a few years now, and he's going to have to learn how to survive on his own if he plans to stay away from the main estate after university, anyways." Hatori said.

"Still, you can't leave him all by himself for too long. He can't cook rice on his own, and what if he doesn't make friends. Or worst, what if he only makes friends with girls?" Ayame said, fear seeping into his voice.

"Perhaps it would be good for him to spend time with girls. He was taught to fear them, but now that he's out of the Sohma estate, he shouldn't have to feel as though talking to someone of the opposite sex will cause disaster to the world." Hatori said, knowing full well that Ayame was constantly all over the girls when he was in high school.

"See, cold soul that I was talking about, but aren't you going to at least check in on him at some point? He could be starving to death right now." After Ayame's decision to get closer with his brother started, it seemed as though he felt the need to over dramatize everything that had to do with his brother.

"I will call him, and if he is free tonight, I will take him over a meal." Hatori decided, "Will that appease you?"

"Oh yes, very much so Hatori," Ayame said, though rather distant from his phone, and sounding as though he was not paying any attention. "A customer has come in, I'll let you go, but I'm holding you to your word that you will call be once next week." With that the phone clicked and their conversation was over.

It was already getting later in the afternoon, and though Hatori could easily not keep his word, he was interested in seeing how Yuki was doing in his dorm. Picking up the phone again, he called Yuki's cellphone number. It took four rings before the rat answered.

"Hatori, is something the matter?" He asked.

"No, nothing, I was just on the phone with your brother." Hatori began, but was quickly cut off.

"Why was he talking about me?" Hatori knew that there would never be good air between the two brothers, but he often thought they were unable to see eye to eye because they didn't try hard enough. Ayame thought that he was, but he was never taking Yuki's thoughts and feelings to mind. Yuki, on the other hand, was completely willing to admit that he didn't want to take Ayame into consideration.

"He was calling for an update on the two of us. He wanted to know how you were doing, and said you hadn't picked up your phone despite his constant calls." Hatori said, knowing the reason Yuki hadn't picked up his phone.

"Did he not understand that there might be a reason that I was not answering my phone?" It was a constant fight between the two brothers, and Hatori wasn't quite sure how he always ended up in the middle. Though he figured it had to do with the fact that Shigure was too childish to deal with them.

"It's likely that he did, which is why he decided to call me. However, he had a point bringing up that I hadn't seen you since we moved you in. I was thinking, if you were not busy, I might bring you something to eat." He offered, feeling strange about bringing food to his cousin. He had never been overly close to Yuki, after all the resentment that the rat held for him. However, they were far away from their family, and Hatori was used to spending so much time on his own. Ayame and Shigure would find a way to visit, or rather bother, him at least once a week.

"If you have plans, that's fine. I just thought I'd offer a home cooked meal." Hatori said, waiting for an answer.

There was a silence on the other end of the line. "That would be great, but do you mind if I come over to your apartment, instead of you to my dorm?" Yuki asked.

Hatori had no problem, though he hadn't unpacked most of his belongings, being constantly in and out of the house. "My apartment would work just fine. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, I can take the bus, I'll be there in an hour?" He offered up a time.

Hatori wished that he could push it back, but he didn't want to cause problems for the university student. If Yuki could come in an hour, he'd just have to fix his place up in that time. "I will see you in an hour." When the phone was hung up, Hatori got up and began opening boxes and stacking his belongings around his apartment.

He wasn't one to keep a lot on him, but he did have plenty books and files that he needed to keep on hand in case of emergencies with his family. Though, he was far enough away that he couldn't go back to Akito's side easily, even if the god asked for him.

After a half and hour of cleaning and organizing, Hatori turned to the kitchen to begin cooking dinner. After his father died, when he was in high school, he was given a maid to look after him and the house. However, at that time in his life, he was often up late studying, and would have to fix meals for himself. So he bought a cookbook and tried his best to cook for himself. The first few times didn't go over so smoothly, but after he got a hang of the basics, he was able to prepare meals for himself. Though, once Ayame and Shigure found out, they were much more interested in going to his house to study at night.

He didn't do much for their dinner, as he didn't have much in his kitchen to begin with. He cooked fish, and greens, not forgetting rice to go with the main dishes. When the knock came on the door of his apartment, Hatori put down the bowl he was holding and answered it. As he expected, he found Yuki standing before him, but as he wasn't expecting, the boy looked exhausted. He had dark bags under his eyes, and he looked as though he had aged five years since the last time Hatori saw him.

"Yuki, come in," he offered, not bringing up the thoughts running through his mind. "Dinner is almost ready, if you want to sit down at the table?"

Dishing up the rice and plating the other dishes, he brought them to the table, and laid them in between the seats. Yuki's eyes were half closed and he didn't seem to be all there.

"Yuki, are you getting enough sleep? You can't strain your body, or you will transform." Hatori said, not wanting to sound like a picky parent, but he knew that if Yuki made any mistakes they would both be ordered to move back to the main estate instantly. He wouldn't mind going back, it wasn't that he wanted to, but he would not mind being there. However, he knew that the rat had deeper wounds that were found in the main estate.

"I transformed last night, sometime during the night," Yuki admitted. "This morning, my roommate thought I had already left the dorm. So he didn't snoop around the bed and find me. But I ended up missing all of my classes, because I wouldn't transform back. When you called me, I had only been in human form for a couple of minutes."

Hatori sat down on in his chair, rather shocked to hear the news of Yuki allowing himself to get so strained. "Yuki, if your roommate had found you, Aki-_he_ would have demanded your return. You have to think about yourself and your health, if you plan to stay outside of the Sohma household longer than a month."

Hatori felt guilt in his stomach, he should have called earlier to check on Yuki. HE might have had work, but family was more important. Even if that family was far off, and he was unable to trace the roots without a week and a lot of paper.

"I understand, I am just adapting to this style of living. My roommate is very active about going out and having fun. He constantly invites me out, and I feel as though I would disappoint him if I said no." Yuki was always the people pleaser, whereas Hatori would have given them a simple reason for his need to stay in. Even Ayame and Shigure knew when he was being serious and when to stop pushing matters.

"Well, give him a reason, one that can't be stopped. You have to visit a family member, and you have to be at their apartment at a certain time. I have a couch, if you ever need it." He said nodding to the not very exciting couch in his living room.

"Thank you, but I think I will be fine." Yuki said, beginning to eat his meal.

Taking the hint, Hatori also began to eat. He had only cooked for himself once since moving in. He was always out or at the hospital and just chose to eat somewhere nearby. He was a bit rusty on his cooking skills, but it wasn't as bad as the first time he had ever cooked.

"This is delicious, thank you for cooking for me tonight." Yuki said.

"I wouldn't say delicious is the right word for it, but I thank you for your kind compliment."

Their meal went by with little talk, and mainly just a constant course for their chopsticks, bowl to mouth and back again. When their food was gone, they took their dishes to the kitchen, and Hatori began to wash them. When they were finished, there was an awkward air between them. Unease filled the room, before Yuki finally broke the tension.

"I should be leaving now, I need to get back to my dorm and study."

Hatori nodded, "Would you like me to take you back? It will be faster if I drive you." He offered up, feeling guilty for owning a car, but forcing Yuki to take the bus.

"No, I will be fine, besides, I have a free bus pass, and it would cost you gas." Yuki said, before another silence fell between them.

"Well, I will be going now." Yuki finally said, turning towards the door. He reached the handle before turning back to Hatori. "This was nice, I would like to do it again." Twisting the knob in his hand, he watched Hatori nod in agreement.

"Any time that you need somewhere to get away from school, it will be here."

The door swung open, but before Yuki was able to leave a puff of smoke filled the air. Hatori's body frozen, terror rushed over him. When he finally forced his body into movement, he slammed the door shut, and batted the smoke away. Finding on the ground, an unconscious rat.

"What am I going to do with you?" Hatori asked, lifting the small body off the ground and taking him into his bedroom. He placed the animal under the covers and tucked him in. Doing his best to check Yuki's vitals, when he determined he was healthy enough to be left alone, Hatori picked up a spare blanket. "Sleep well," he said, leaving his bedroom and going to the couch. Lying down, he shook his head. "How in the world did I get myself into this?"


End file.
